What Book Does Negan Read To Lucille In The Walking Dead Season 10 Finale?

Spoilers ahead for the season 10 finale of The Walking Dead!

Much like how you can't keep walkers down for too long in The Walking Dead universe, the series refused to lie down and die in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Season 10 technically started all the way back in 2019, and AMC is only just now getting around to airing the finale. The season had to suspend filming in 2020, as was the case with pretty much all productions during the public health crisis, but fans still managed to watch one more episode when "A Certain Doom" aired in October 2020. Now, the last page of this chapter has turned with the season 10 finale, "Here's Negan," airing on AMC+. 

While the episode starts off in modern times, we soon flash back to Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) past when he was still with his wife, Lucille (Hilarie Burton-Morgan), as she struggled with cancer. It offers a glimpse into the psyche of a man viewers only tend to think of as a sociopath, and as it turns out, there once was a time when he was a loving husband and relied on the kindness of strangers to get by. He'd even read books to Lucille to help her get through a tumultuous period, and while the title of said book is never mentioned, we managed to figure it out — in case it's been gnawing away at you. 

Before Negan was leading followers and bashing heads in with baseball bats, his only concern in the middle of the apocalypse was making sure his wife had everything she needed to try to fend off her cancer. As if trying to stay safe from a bunch of zombies wasn't bad enough, they soon have to contend with a power outage. There's generator fuel, but they need to conserve that as much as possible. To keep Lucille entertained while she's getting one of her chemotherapy treatments, Negan decides to read her a book (in lieu of watching a James Bond movie). 

Apparently, the couple has one of the all-time classics sitting on their shelves as Negan reads Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen to Lucille to pass the time. You can't really see the cover of the book, and he doesn't explicitly say what he's reading; however, inferring from the fact he references a Mr. Collins who's intent on marriage, there can be no doubt the book in question is Pride and Prejudice. Despite the fact Negan looks like he's pretty far along in the novel, he eventually relents and tells Lucille, "Mama, this book sucks, it's killing me. I can't do it."

When looking into it, it's actually a fairly relevant book for him to be reading. Zombie aficionados may be familiar with a little-known parody novel titled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith that was eventually turned into a movie starring Lily James. Suffice to say, that satirical version probably doesn't exist in The Walking Dead universe given the fact no one ever uses the word "zombie," but maybe Negan can write it if things ever go back to normal on the show.